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/ˈbɹʌɪ̯.əˌfʌɪt/ · noun
(botany) Any plant of the division Bryophyta, defined sensu lato to comprise the mosses, liverworts and hornworts and corresponding to all embryophytes that are not vascular plants..
2002, William R. Buck, Bryophytes, entry in Niles Eldredge (editor), Life on Earth, page 202, Because of their small size and often delicate structure, bryophytes have a poor fossil record, dating back only about 290 million years.
Without going into their reasons, Bold, Alexopoulos, & DelBevoryas (1980) and Crandall-Stotler (1980) believe that there are at least three independent lines of bryophytes and that this is best reflected by establishing three divisions - the Bryophyta (mosses), Hepatophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts).
And so it was that I was introduced to Len Ellis and the quiet world of bryophytes – mosses to the rest of us.
Use bryophyte when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Bryophyte means (botany) Any plant of the division Bryophyta, defined sensu lato to comprise the mosses, liverworts and hornworts and corresponding to all embryophytes that are not vascular plants..
Common synonyms include nonvascular plant.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
2002, William R. Buck, Bryophytes, entry in Niles Eldredge (editor), Life on Earth, page 202, Because of their small size and often delicate structure, bryophytes have a poor fossil record, dating back only about 290 million years.
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